Ship-brake.



P. E. GATCHELL.

SHIP BRAKE.

' APPLICATION FILED NOV. 27. I916.

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P. E. GATCHELL.

SHIP BRAKE.

APPLICATION man NOV. 21. 1916. I lgasgzsa Patented Feb.-19, 1918.

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SHIP-BRAKE.

' wardly at an angle to the side of the ship to offer resistance to the water when the sh1p is to be stopped or turned.

The chief object of this improvement is to hinge a brake door of the above described form so that when the brake door is open the rear end thereof may be released and permitted to move outwardly preparatory to closing or releasing the door, thereby permitting the water to pass between the brake door and the side of the ship and making it possible to close the brake door while the ship is in motion and without applying a great amount of power to overcome the braking pressure of the water.

The invention consists in the novel construction, adaptation, and combination of arts of a ship brake, as will be more clearly described in the following specification, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

I am aware that ship brakes of the form that are hinged like'a door to the side of a ship and stand at an angle thereto when in the braking position have previously been constructed, but all these brakes with which I am familiar have been hinged directly to the side of the ship and require a great deal of power to close them when the boat is moving ahead. My brake overcomes this difiiculty by permitting the rear end of the brake door to swingoutwardly, thus making an opening between the brake door and the side of the ship for the assage of water, causing the brake door to e presented more nearly edgewise to the direction of movement of the boat and permitting the brake door to be easily plotted. I

In the-accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the front" end of a ship upon which my inven'tion'is installed;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in sectional elevation illustrating one of the brakes in an operative position; Fig. 3 is a view similar Specification of Letters Patent.

to Fig. 2, showing the brake member in one position it may assume preparatory to being closed; Fig. 4 is a view similar to, Fig. 2, showing the brake member in a closed position; and Fig. 5 is a view on a reduced scale substantially on broken line .5, 5 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings throughout which like reference numerals indicate like parts, the numeral 6, Fig. 1, indicates the hull of a ship that isadapted to be immersed in water-to the level indicated by the water line VVL; and 7 are housings that are built in the sides of the ship flush with the outside surface thereof and form frames that con- Patented Feb. is, rare.

. n p Application filed November 27, 1916. Serial No. 133,806. g

tain swinging brake doors 8 of a type more clearly shown in the detail views.

It is obvious that any desired number of the brake doors and operating mechanism therefor may be installed on a ship, each constituting a separate unit. I

The housings 7 ,are preferably formed with out-turned flanges 7 and are secured to the sides of the boat 6 by stri s of metal 9 and rivets 10, as more clearly sl iown in Figs. 2,3, and 4.

The brake doors 8 are each pivotally secured at or adjacent to their rear edge to the rearends of hinge arms 11 that extend forwardly and have their front ends connected by'pivots 12 with fixed lugs 13 on the rear,

wall. of the housing 7 about midway from front to rear end of the housing in such manner that when the doors 8 are opened as shown in Fig. 3 they will besupported in an extended position without sagging or dropping down.

The rear end of each of the doors 8 is normally held in the closed position by a pispiston 26 within a pneumatic cylinder 27 that is secured to the side of the ship.

28' is a pneumatic cylinder fixedly secured within the ship near the forward end of the housing 7 and having-a piston 29 that carries a piston rod 30 that projects outwardly through stuiiing boxes 31 and 32,

and is adapted to engage the forward end of the brake door and move it outwardly a slight distance so that such door may be caught and opened by the water at the sides of t e moving ship. v

The pneumatic cylinders 20, 27, and 28 are each provided at both ends with 'air pipes 35that'lead to'suitable control mecha nism (not shown) preferably located in the pilot house of the ship whereby air may be admitted to the cylinders to drive the pistons in either direction.

When the brakes are not in use'tney .are closed and ocu y a position flush with theouter surface 0 the ship so that they offer no additional resistance to the water and do not lessen the speed of the ship, it being obvious from Fig. 1 that all of the operating mechanism, hinges, and the like for the brakedoors are completely housed when the doors are closed.

When it is desired to stop the ship quickly the air control may be operated to admit pressure behind'the piston 29 in the cylinder 28, ahd at the same time the pressure in front of the piston 26 in the cylinder may be released, thus permitting the cable 21 to slack and the piston rod 30 to press the front end of the brake door outwardly into a position as shown by broken lines in Fig. 2 so that it will be caught by the water rushing past the side of the boat and moved into the braking position shown by full lines in Fig. 2.

During the movement of the brake door 8 from the closed to the open position, the air in the forward end of the 'cylinder27 is permitted to escape through the relatively small pipe 35 and thus serves as a pneu-.

matic cushion to prevent the brake door 8 from being arrested abruptly and breaking the cable 21.

When it is desired to close the brake door the air pressure in the cylinder 20 in front of the piston 19 is reduced and the force of the water isallowed to move the rear 'end of the brake door outwardly into the position shown. in Fig. 3, thus giving the water a free passage between therear,end ofthe brake door and the ship and permitting the front end of such door to be moved inwardly to a closed position by admitting air under relatively low pressure to the for ward" end of the cylinder 27.

At the same time the forward end of the door 8 :is being closed compressed air may be admitted to the forward end of the cylinder 20 to move the rear end of the, door 8 inwardly into a closed position, v

The ball and socket joint 16 is an essential feature of this device since it serves as a support for the pneumatic cylinder 20 and permits such cylinder to assume any angle between thepositions .shown in Figs. 2 and 3 respectively. Y

lVhen Ibrake doors 8. of relatively large size are thrown outwardly at an angle to the sides of a moving ship they form pockets opposed to the water that is rushing past the sides of the ship and offer a great braking resistance.

It is obvious that when the ship is movingand the brake doors are open as shown in Fig. 2, it will requirea strongl pull on the cable 21 to close the doors if the rear ends of such doors can not be moved outwardly. It has been demonstrated by experiment that it is impractical to close brake doors that are hinged to a fixed sup port at their rear ends without gbringing the ship almost to a stop. obviates this difliculty and permits the doors to be closed when the ship is moving through the Water at a high velocity.

Another advantage of my invention resides in the efliciency of its operation in turning-a ship; for instance, the brake doors on one side of the ship may be opened to turn the ship quickly and such doors may be closed without stopping the ship after the latter has beenturned.

The air control for the cylinders 20, 27, and 28 forms no part of this invention and is not illustrated and described in detail, it being understood that any well-known means of admitting and releasing compressed air to the ends of the cylinders may be employed.

Obviously changes in the form of construction of myinvention may be resorted to within the scope of the claims.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: i

1. A ship brake, comprising a housing provided in the side of a ship, links pivoted at their forwardends to said housing, a brake door having its rear edge pivotally secured to the rear ends of said links, means for supporting the front end of said door in an open or a closed position, and means for holding the rear end of said door and permitting said rear end to be moved outwardly to facilitate the closing of said door.

2. A ship brake, comprising a housing forming a recess in the side of a ship, a dopr adapted to close the outside of said recess, sald door being flush with the outside surface of said ship when it is closed, links pivoted to the walls of said housing and, to the rear end of said door, means secured to the front of said door for'holding said door in an angular open position against the pressure of water and means secured to the rear of said door for hblding said door inwardly, .said last namedmeans being adapted to be released to permit the pressure" of water to move the rear end of said door outwardly to facilitate closing of said door. 3. In a Ship My {invention llt brake the combination with 1,2ee,7se

a housing provided in the side of a ship, of links pivoted at their forward ends to said housing, a brake door having its rear end pivoted to the rear end of said links whereby the rear end of said door will be permitted to swing outwardly on a radius formed by said links, a cable secured to the forward end of said door to hold said door in open or closed position, means for moving said door outwardly a slight distance from the closed position, a piston rod pivotally secured totherear end of said door and extending inwardly through the well of said housing, a. pneumatic cylinder having a piston connected with said piston rod, and a ball and socket joint for securing said pneumatic cylinder to said housing to permit said pneumatic cylinder to assume various angular positions.

4. A ship brake of the. class described comprising a brake door, links pivoted at one end to the rearedge of said door and at the opposite end to the side of a ship at a point near the center of said door, a cable secured to the front end of said door means to piston to on the front end of said door, a power exerting a pull on said cable, a

exerting an outward 'pressure outer side of the hull when closed, links iv oted to the rear edge of said door an to the wall of said recess, a pulley in the i'ront endef said recess, a power actuated piston rod extending through the rear wall of c said recess, a cable secured to said pisten rod thence passing over said pulley and secured to the front edge of said door, a piston to engage with and exert an outward pressure on the front edge of said door,'a iston rod pivoted to the rear edge of said oor, a ball and socket joint in the wall of said recess for said piston rod to pass through, and pneumatic means for actuating said iston rod.

- RESTQN E. GATCHELL. Witnesses:

R. J. Coon,

F. C. Marnnnr.

denies er this patent may be attained for five cents each, by addressing the "Gemieeioner e1? latents,

asmngton, D. E. 

